Italy praises Times Cities fit for cycling campaign

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Italy’s insurance industry has praised The Times safe cycling
campaign, saying it offers a model for Italy too, where there are twice the
number of deaths.

The head of the ANIA Foundation for Road Traffic Safety, established by the
country’s insurance firms, issued a statement pledging his support for The
Times’ move.

“Making people aware of road safety through the media is fundamental for
reducing the number and gravity of accidents. The campaign launched by The
Times for the protection of cyclists in Great Britain should be an
example for all of how public institutions, private associations and the
media should work together to combat what is the greatest tragedy of our
country — road accidents,” said Umberto Guidoni, the foundation’s
secretary-general.

“If a big newspaper like The Times has taken a position like
this, starting a real battle for respect of the rules of the road, it’s
desirable that in our country there should be a similarly strong media
campaign.”

Mr Guidoni said Italy had 11 million bicycles and came third in Europe in the
number of cyclists killed, behind only Germany, with 462, and Poland, with
280.

“The protection of the weakest road users is a common problem throughout the
world. Cyclists and pedestrians are the categories most at risk of being run
over. In 10 years 1,275 cyclists have been killed on British streets and,
according to European statistics, there were 104 victims in 2010 in
accidents involving bicyles,” he said.

“In Italy, the situation is even worse: In 2010 263 cyclists died (6 per cent
of the total deaths); and 2,556 died over the course of the last decade.

“That is more than double the number recorded in Britain. This shows our
country must still do much in terms of prevention, as well as communication
and awareness.”

The ANIA Foundation is pushing for the introduction of a crime of vehicular
homicide in Italy in cases where the driver is in an altered psychological
state or driving well over the speed limit.

“The position taken by the ANIA Foundation and other institutions on the need
to establish the crime of vehicular homicide in some cases has begun to
produce its first results,” he said. “A man who killed a 24-year-old woman
while driving under the influence of drugs has been sentenced by the appeal
court in Milan to 14 years for voluntary manslaughter. The sentence
overturned the trial court’s sentence of four years for culpable
manslaughter. This is only a first step.”